“If we tell you and others that we're going to launch in June of 2020 around the moon, which is what EM-1 is, I think we should launch around the moon in June of 2020,” Bridenstine said. “And I think it can be done. We need to consider as an agency all options to accomplish that objective. Some of those options would include launching the Orion crew capsule and European service model on a commercial rocket.”

Dale Ketcham, with Space Florida, said that could actually benefit the Space Coast.

“The plan is we don't have to wait on SLS, we could use two heavy boosters that are right now off the shelf,” Ketcham said. “Because that will expedite the process and get us moving forward more quickly to the development of lunar habitats, descent modules, ascent modules, other forms of hardware that are going to be part of that lunar architecture.”

We should know in the next few weeks if NASA will stay with SLS or go commercial for next year's moon test flight.